Skip to main content

Industry consultation delivers draft ITS strategy for Australia

A draft National ITS Industry Strategy developed through extensive industry and government stakeholder consultation has been released for public comment by ITS Australia. It encompasses road, rail, sea and air transport from 2012 to 2017. Its purpose is to improve the safety, economic and environmental performance of Australia's transport networks by capitalising on state of the art ITS technologies and integrating those technologies across the networks. ITS Australia CEO Susan Harris said the strategy f
April 24, 2012 Read time: 2 mins
A draft National 3278 ITS Industry Strategy developed through extensive industry and government stakeholder consultation has been released for public comment by ITS Australia. It encompasses road, rail, sea and air transport from 2012 to 2017. Its purpose is to improve the safety, economic and environmental performance of Australia's transport networks by capitalising on state of the art ITS technologies and integrating those technologies across the networks.

ITS Australia CEO Susan Harris said the strategy focuses on the imperative to develop and deliver priority ITS solutions across transport modes. "This National ITS Industry Strategy recognises the needs and aspirations of transport users and operators, industry suppliers, government policy makers and regulators, academia, and the wider community," said Harris.

"It has been developed with full awareness of the Austroads Cooperative ITS Strategic Plan, which focuses on cooperative ITS initiatives for road users, such as vehicle to vehicle and vehicle to infrastructure communication.

"The National ITS Industry Strategy also reflects the ambitions outlined in the Policy Framework for Intelligent Transport Systems in Australia endorsed by all Australian Transport Ministers at the Standing Council on Transport and Infrastructure (SCOTI) meeting in November 2011," she said.

In addition, the National ITS Industry Strategy is aligned with the three core pillars of transport inherent in the national transport reform program auspiced by the Australian Transport Council and the National Transport Commission:

• Safety - Zero harm to users of the transport network.
• Mobility - Zero avoidable congestion.
• Environment - Significant reduction in transport greenhouse gas emissions (50-70% on 2010 base).

The National ITS Industry Strategy identifies five key components for action:

• Architecture, standards and tools - leverage international best practice (see Figure 1).
• Plan for coordinated development - identify priority action areas.
• Projects to develop solutions - technology testing and policy formulation.
• Collaboration across ITS stakeholders - identify and engage centres of excellence.
• Policy initiatives to clarify ITS strategy - educate users to promote best practice.

Harris said that with its small population distributed across a huge continent, Australia needs a comprehensive and collaborative plan for the development and deployment of ITS technologies.

To view the strategy document, visit www.its-australia.com.au

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Road safety concepts aimed at developing nations
    October 31, 2012
    In this second of a two-part interview, Rohit Baluja introduces the work of the Delhi-based Institute of Road Traffic Education that he established in 1991 by way of practical response to the particular challenges of road safety in a developing world context Despite the alarming trends outlined in the first part of this article (World Highways: Vol.21, Issue No.6), Rohit Baluja remains optimistic that, if only the proper foundations of traffic management systems can be established, there is no reason why dr
  • Tackling road safety in India
    February 7, 2012
    Introducing an Indian business leader committed to combating the 'perfect plague' of deaths on the country's roads
  • Michelin and IRF partner up to provide road statistics
    December 13, 2013
    Michelin has partnered with IRF to mark the global launch of the 50th Anniversary edition of the World Road Statistics. The World Road Statistics (WRS) have now been published every year since 1964. To mark this half-century of achievement, IRF has released a commemorative 50th Anniversary edition that compiles 12 years of data to provide a comprehensive statistical review of the evolution of international road and land transport from the dawn of the Millennium to the present day.
  • India’s road to safety
    September 5, 2012
    India's growth rate is the envy of the world, and its infrastructure is rapidly improving, but its road safety record is the world's worst. Patrick Smith reports on a conference aimed at finding answers to the problems Ambling through the gardens and marble magnificence that is the Taj Mahal or gazing down on the city of Jaipur from the hilltop Jaigarh Fort is far removed from the world outside.